The weather will be cold, we'll be praying that the Pats make the Super Bowl, and Johnny Winter will tear it up at the Narrows Center for the Arts.

Old man Winter made his annual trip to the Narrows Stage Jan. 5.

Winter, 68, and his younger brother Edgar — a music legend in his own right — were both born albino in segregated Texas in the 1950s.

White as snow, the teenaged Winter not only played in black blues clubs in the deeply segregated "rough-and-tumble oil town" of Beaumont, Texas — he had fans there.

In 1962, Winter pestered B.B. King to let him play on stage with him at a black Beaumont club. King eventually gave in; Johnny got a standing ovation.

Winter hit his stride as a musician in the late 1960s and 1970s, with his gritty blues, world-weary voice and crazy guitar skills.

He's produced three Grammy Award-winning albums for blues legend Muddy Waters, and has recorded several Grammy-nominated blues albums of his own. In 1988, he was inducted into the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame and in 2003, he was ranked 74th in Rolling Stone magazine's list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time."

While Winter publicly struggled with addiction for years — he was hooked on heroin and then on methadone — he is now clean and healthy with a new record out: the aptly-titled "Roots."

"Roots" is his own selection of songs that shaped him as a kid — the songs he listened to and imitated growing up in Beaumont. Produced by guitarist Paul Nelson, Winter is joined by Vince Gill, Warren Haynes, John Popper, Derek Trucks, Susan Tedeschi and others.

I called up Winter, who now lives in Connecticut, to chat before his annual Fall River visit.

Daley: What was it like growing up in a segregated town in Texas in the 1950s?

Winter: It was pretty red-neckish. (laughs) But there was good music around. Louisiana was only 45 minutes away. ... I started playing guitar at 12 years old. Listening to Chuck Berry got me into it. I heard him play and thought, "I want to do that."

Daley: Were your parents musical?

Winter: Yeah, my father played banjo and sax; my mother played piano. I started out listening to my parents' records, but when rock and roll came out, I loved that. I loved Little Richard. I started my first band at age 14. We played school things, and at a club in Belmont on the weekends.

Daley: You've played with a lot of greats over the years, like B.B. King. Who are some of your major influences?

Winter: B.B. is great. I love B.B. He's a really nice guy. He was a big influence on me, both his guitar-playing and his singing. I really liked playing with Muddy Waters, too. I had a great time playing with him. He's a great musician and a nice guy.

Daley: What kind of music do you listen to at home?

Winter: Pretty much all blues. But I like The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, (Bob) Dylan, too.

Daley: What was it like to play Woodstock?

Winter: They asked me and I said sure; it was just another festival at the time. It was weird; nobody knew who was going on next.

Daley: Do you have any good memories from it?

Winter: I played and left, so I don't have any memories except that it was rainy and muddy.

Daley: Tell us about your new record, "Roots."

Winter: It's a lot of my early influences, all the songs I grew up with.

Daley: Did it take you a long time to pick them out?

Winter: Actually, it took about 15 minutes. ... My producer Paul (Nelson) got a lot of great people on there, too.

Daley: Is Paul there? Can I talk to him?

Winter: Sure. (Passes phone)

Daley: Paul?

Nelson: Hello, there!

Daley: So you produced "Roots" for Johnny?

Nelson: Yes, he graciously asked me to be a producer. The premise was: let's do songs that you grew up on that influenced you, blues songs. Because back in the '70s they wanted him to do pop rock. So he's so excited to be able to play the blues.

He picked the songs out in 15 minutes. I said, 'Are you kidding me?' He was in the studio for five hours to make it. He's so much healthier now and he's playing songs he loves, so he nailed it.

Daley: Wow, that's awesome.

Nelson: Yeah, the album worked out so well that they want him to do "Roots 2." We're already working on that. That will be out in March.

Daley: Any guest stars you can mention?

Nelson: It's all top secret. ... But I can say that I've been in touch with Eric Clapton. There's some interest there...

Lauren Daley is a freelance writer. Contact her at ldaley33@gmail.com.